Aquarium to Terrarium Conversion Kit -- 20 Gal High

thingiverse

When I finally decided to bring home an arboreal species of reptile, I was really disappointed by how pricey store-bought terrariums can be. I discovered that conversion kits exist to turn an aquarium into an upright terrarium with a door, which helps save money, but the price still seemed too high for what you get; plus, the kit I wanted was sold out. So I took matters into my own hands and designed one myself. Edit: I thought they had stopped making it, but it turns out they're selling that kit again. If you'd rather buy a kit that's probably better designed than this one, check out FrogCube. Looks like he's building a whole line of compatible products. The parts labeled "hinge top vX" and "hinge bottom vX" are the ones that attach to the aquarium frame and stay in place. The files marked "hinge door" attach to the pane of glass used for the door and are the part that swivels. The "latch" is a small piece that screws into a vent hole and flips down (or up on the bottom hinge) to keep the door closed. The "small-fan-duct" provides some forced air circulation and is designed to house a 40mm fan. This design was made for installation in a *20 Gallon high* aquarium, although other aquariums with the same width might work too. This design also assumes standard 3/32" thick glass, which can be found easily (and cheaply) at a hardware store. I recommend using silicone adhesive to glue the "hinge door" components to the pane of glass being used for the door, and for gluing in the small pane used at bottom of the terrarium, which holds in the substrate. The "hinge top" and "hinge bottom" components can generally be held in with friction but reinforcing with silicone couldn't hurt. I sized the hinge's holes to use M5x30mm screws as the pivots. They are able to spin freely in the "hinge top" and "hinge bottom" parts and screw into the "hinge door" components. I'm using this design to house a crested gecko, which is a species that lives in a relatively wet environment but needs its enclosure to be able to dry out a bit throughout the day. On their own, the vent holes should be sufficient to allow the critter to breathe but humidity doesn't readily escape, so I added a small fan to pull air from the top of the enclosure and this works quite well. Parts: 20 Gallon high aquarium Plain silicone adhesive (no "anti-mold" or other added chemicals). I used "GE silicone 1" all-purpose silicone adhesive. 2 M5 Screws for the pivots of the hinge. 1 (or 2) M3 Screws for the latch(s) 4 M3 Screws for the fan duct (optional)